Leverage: The New Good Bad Guy
by Areylia
Summary: in search of a woman in trouble, the team welcome a new member to their team...who may or may not be a complete stranger to one of them. All characters from show and OC.
1. Chapter 1

"Dad?" a young woman screams into her phone.  
"Where are you?"  
"I'm in Orlando. Dad, I need your help. I screwed up big time…"  
"Sweetheart, I am on my way. Tell me what's going on." The gentleman says as he stands up from the table and grabs his coat before walking out the door. The other people sitting at the table follow suit.  
"I was hired for a job and…something went wrong." The woman looks into her rear view mirror. "Oh my God! They are behind me!"  
"Do your best to lose them and hide at your Aunt's condo. " He orders just as the woman screams and a loud metal-crushing sound blares through his phone. "Riley? Riley?! Damn it!" They all quickly jump into the van and speed through traffic.

"Nate? Where are we going?" Sophie asks as they walk off the plane.  
"To rescue an important person."  
"Is it Maggie?" Parker asks, excitedly.  
"No. It is not Maggie, Parker." Nate pulls out his phone and dials the last incoming number.  
"Mr. Ford, we have been…expecting your call."  
"Who is this?" Nate asks.  
"We are…friends of a friend…he wanted us to give you a message, if you will."  
"Who would this friend be?"  
"Just a friend. We have the young girl here, safe and unharmed, for the moment. But she is gagged and tied to a chair. You are to meet us at a warehouse. We will discuss the message then."  
"What warehouse?"  
"I will send you the location. Be here in one hour or say good-bye." The man laughs into the phone just before ending the call.  
"Nate, I tried to trace the call but—"  
"They are sending the address. Let's get going…"

With minutes to spare, they pull up outside the warehouse and Nate runs in with Eliot hot on his tail.  
"Nathan Ford, I presume…"  
"Where is she?"  
"Like I said, she is safe and unharmed." The guy points just above him. Nate and Eliot look up to see the young dark haired woman gagged and bound to a chair with two rather large men standing on either of her yielding guns.  
"So, about my message…"  
"Right. Well, you see, you dealt with the wrong man. He hired you to do a job, then you reversed the play. I believe he formed this little….team.."  
"Dubenich."  
"You do remember! Great. You see, because of you, he sits in a prison. He feels like you did him wrong. He calls us to steal girl, bring you here, and convince you to either break him free or we will girl." The woman hearing this starts to scream through her gag. One of the guards slaps her hard enough to flip her and the chair over.  
"Hey!" Nate yells. "Keep your hands off her."  
"Of course…daddy." The lead man says just has gunfire begins above. Upon hearing daddy, Eliot looks at Nate. Why hadn't he mentioned a daughter?  
"Riley!" Nate runs after them as Eliot punches the guy and follows. Nate and Eliot run into the two goons from above. Eliot punches, kicks, knees, and flips the guys until they are unconscious. And in true Eliot form, he picks up the guns and unloads the ammo.  
"Where could she have gone?" Nate asks himself just as someone falls to their feet in front of them. The woman stands up and runs to Nate.  
"There are more guys. We have to go. Now!" Nate grabs her hand and the three of them run out of the warehouse. Nate helps her into the van and they take off.

"Riley, what happened?" Nate asks as Eliot brings the woman some water.  
"I…got a call about a job. Normally, I work for myself but I was offered a five million to steal plans for a prison-"  
"In Illinois?"  
"Yeah?"  
"Were you contacted by or for Victor Dubenich?"  
"For...by one of his goons. How do you know Dubenich?"  
"We were the ones who put him behind bars." Sophie replies.  
"No wonder they badmouthed you." Riley scoffs. "They won't stop. They will just keep coming."  
"Did you give them the plans to the prison?" Nate asks.  
"Of course not." Riley reaches up her pullover and pulls out a folded piece of paper. "Inside pocket..." She says, noticing Hardison watching her. She hands the paper to Nate. "Dad?" She asks, trying to break his concentration on the drawing.  
"'Dad'?!" Everyone except Eliot, Riley, and Nate gasps.  
"You have a daughter?" Sophie asks. "I knew about Sam...but a daughter? I get why you didn't tell Eliot but it's me..."  
"Hey..."  
"That's not why I didn't tell him. I just wanted to keep her safe..." he looks at Riley. "You're a thief?"  
"Um...is this really the time for your fathering?"  
"We do need to get out of here, Nate. Save your "this is wrong" speech for her later on." Sophie says.  
"I know. But we will have that talk."  
"Says the man who went from chasing thieves to being one himself…"  
"We use our skills and knowledge to help those in need."  
"Right…"  
"You okay?" Nate finally asks, seeing his daughter shaking.  
"Yeah. My wrists are a little sore from where they bound them and, you know, my face."  
"Until we are done with this…we are to stay together. I do not want any of us alone…making us vulnerable." Nate commands.


	2. Chapter 2

_**I do want to say that I do NOT own Leverage, any of it's characters, style of story-telling, or any of that. I wish I could own Eliot Spencer but that's a whole other story ;). **_

They were able to fly to Boston without incident and headed straight for Leverage headquarters. Nate walks through the briefing room into an office and reaches for a drink while the rest sit at the conference table. Riley stands by the door and watches Nate for a moment before sitting next to Sophie.  
"Has he been drinking much?" Riley asks.  
"Sadly. And each day…each con…every time we turn around, he has a drink. We constantly ask him to slow down and think about the job." Riley turns to look at her father once more. She takes a deep breath and slowly exhales. She slowly rises to her feet and step after step walks toward him.  
"Is it helping?" She asks, looking at her feet.  
"Excuse me?"  
"The drink…is it helping?"  
"Riley, don't go there."  
"Is it because of me? Are you self-medicating over something else you can't handle?"  
"Riley…!" Nate looks to see his team looking their way. He lowers his voice and says, "Riley, why are you doing this?"  
"What? Asking why my father is once again searching the bottom of the bottle for answers?"  
"No…well, yes but no. Why are—why do—" Nate could not think of the words to say.  
"Why am I a thief?" Nate looks into his daughter's eyes. "Because it's the one thing I can do…? I can be someone I'm not? I mean, there are many reasons."  
"I want you to stop. I want you to get a real job."  
"First off, this is my job. I will continue to do so. And until you can truthfully say you are not a thief and do not do anything remotely illegal, do NOT give me the morality speech."  
"I am not a thief, I—"  
"What? Lead a team of thieves to help good people? From what you have told me, albeit to help the good guys, you are still a thief. A black knight."  
"Black knight…again?"  
"Hm?" Riley questions.  
"Nothing. You are just as stubborn as your mother. I know I won't be able to talk you out of this so I want you to stay here with us, so I can watch over you."  
"I don't need my father watching me like a child."  
"I wasn't giving you a choice in the matter."  
"Fine. By the way," she starts as she turns to walk back to the other room, "You are just as stubborn as the rest of us. Don't act like I am all mom."

"What are we going to do about the guys who will be coming for Riley?" Sophie asks.  
"Give her to them?" Parker asks. Riley looks at her with a deathly gaze.  
"No, Parker. We want to keep her safe."  
"Oh, right."  
"Nate, just let me handle it." Eliot says.  
"I am not just going to send you, Eliot."  
"Dad, look." Riley says motioning the a news feed on one of the TVs.  
"After a long car chase, it has come to an end. Three gentlemen driving a stolen SUV were forced of the road as police finally caught up to them. The gentlemen are said to be dangerous felons on the run. Following their arrest, six more accomplices have been charged with escaping a federal prison." Nate mutes the TV.  
"How many were there?"  
"That's all of them…I mean, that I know. That's all I seen."  
"Well, that was easy, " Parker states. "and Eliot didn't have to punch anyone in the face."  
"Oh….well. Good…?" Riley says.  
"But how did they even—" Nate starts to ask when noticing Hardison's bigger than ever, yet slightly creepy, smile. "Hardison?"  
"All police and FBI agencies got an anonymous tip about escaped convicts on the loose. Ain't but a thang." He laughs.  
"Well, we will still keep our eyes open but we will continue with everything else." Nate says.  
"So, I guess I am still stuck here?" Riley asks, looking down.  
"Just a little longer. Just until we know for sure you are safe."  
"Great…" Riley stands up and starts to walk away.  
"Where are you going?"  
"Well, if I am going to be stuck here, I am not boarding up with my dad. I am going to find me an apartment."  
"You could stay with me." Sophie says. "I mean, until you find a place."  
"Thanks but no."  
"Riley, let me go with you at least."  
"What?" she whined. "I do not want to go with my dad. I'll take Parker." Causing everyone to laugh.  
"I'll go, Nate." Eliot says, rising to his feet.  
"Okay. Just keep your eye out."

Eliot drives Riley around Boston looking at apartments. One was too 'busted', as she called it. One Eliot did not feel comfortable with but would not explain why. Everything else was just too far out. So, Eliot is now driving her to look at one he thinks she could like.  
"So, this is your car?" she asks, breaking the awkward silence.  
"Yeah."  
"I like it. Reminds me of mine I have tucked away."  
"You drive a Charger?"  
"Custom-made. It stands WAY OUT, so I don't drive it. I just love to look at it. Maybe one day, I will be willing to really take it out."  
"How bad could it be?" Eliot laughs.  
"I had a custom paint job. I was seventeen, wanted something that I thought would be sexy and feminine."  
"What?" Eliot laughs harder."  
"It's a bright, but not distractingly bright, coral with gold stripes like yours."  
"I don't have gold stripes."  
"I know, meant the size, over the hood and all."  
"Coral and gold?"  
"Shut up."  
"So, it's a slightly older model?"  
"Well, I got it three years before it came out. They already designed it and all but I got them to give me one as a tester and they push production back a couple years."  
"How?"  
"Let's just say, I can be very persuasive."  
"A grifter and a thief?"  
"And I can hack…"  
"Stop lying."  
"I'm serious. I mean, I am no Alec Hardison or Sophie Devereaux but I can hold my own."  
"You're serious?"  
"The prison's plans…they are only found on their network, under several different 'locks'."  
"Right…" Eliot pulls into a parking lot and starts to get out of the car. "You coming?"  
"Yeah…" Riley gets out of the car and follows Eliot inside the building. He shows her this amazing apartment. Dark hard wood floors were so clean they almost sparkled and the light gray walls were so bright, it was almost silver. The kitchen was amazingly gourmet and had lots of cabinet and pantry space. The apartment housed two bedrooms and two baths. The master bedroom had a small library entry room before you walked into the bedroom. There was also a huge rich dressing room styled walk in closet and almost like a salon styled en suite. It was everything and more Riley ever wanted.  
"I'll take it."  
"Wha—just like that?"  
"Eliot, I want this apartment. It is so me."  
"Okay. Well, let me go get my friend."  
"You're friend?"  
"Yeah, he owns the building." Eliot walks out of the apartment. Riley walks around and sits on the beautiful white couch.  
"I will love it here!"


End file.
